Quote:
Originally Posted by PowerBenz
Please beware not to purchase any sim card from majestic counter as they sim card nees to regiater den can use..If not its consider blocked sim card..My friend bought on and it cant be use and we took to a hp shop at nagoya they said that the card need to register...Btw the sim card Xl brand no need to register...
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Now it's Indonesian LAW that
ALL SIM cards MUST BE registered to be used, not just those by Majestic.
The sellers at Majestic should warn those who buy. If they don't warn, they are not providing a good service to their customers. Nearly a scam, I'd say.
XI brand no need to register? They cannot be out of Indonesia Law. Probably they allow a grace period before being blocked (see below).
Quote:
Originally Posted by nono1973
Thank you again for the info above,now that there is one more extra choice to choose from (XL)...this sim card company (iM3 from Indosat) below also no need to register too.
I just buy a iM3 sim card for 50k rupiah...for data sim card,may cost a bit more,eg 100k rupiah,also no need to register. Extra 25k rupiah (service charge of 2k rupiah applies) can be topped up at the same location too. And iM3 sim card tho No Need to register WILL expire within about 2 weeks to One Month's time if i choose not to register, thats according to the staff/s in their service center at Nagoya Hill Mall...
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The above really surprises me. Things in Indonesia are never straightforward.
As pointed aout above, now it's
Indonesian Law that
all SIM cards MUST BE registered to be used.
If what you write above is correct, it means that not all Indonesian telephone operators obey to law in the same way. Those operators must allow a grace period (two weeks?) before blocking unregistered SIM cards.
Certainly, allowing a grace period before blocking is what all Operators should do, to allow foreign tourists to use telco services, when they stay just few days in Indonesia, without forcing them to queue for hours at a customer service point.
By the way, most civil countries now require registration of users for each SIM card sold, but this registration is something that is done quickly by the same small shop which has a license to sell SIM cards.
Also in Singapore, when I bought my last SIM cards, I had to provide my passport to the seller: he entered my data in the system, made a photocopy of passport, and that was all. Hassle free.
Indonesia found a way to make things complex and troublesome with its burocracy also this time.
Here below, how it works for Telkomsel (I do not exlude that other operators follow a different procedure, as posters above reported, in particular allowing a grace period)
TELKOMSEL SIM CARD REGISTRATION IN BATAM
My experience yesterday Sunday
I go to Lucky Plaza to buy my SIMPATI SIM cards (one for the GSM phone, another for the MIFI modem for Internet access for my cell phone and laptop) at my usual shop.
There, they confirm that Simpati cards need to be registered before being used. Without registration, cards cannot be activated and are "dead".
They can help for registration for locals, using the Indonesian ID card number, but cannot do anything for foreigners, as they have no access to the system to enter passport data.
They suggest me to go to GraPARI (Nagoya Hill next to JCo) and buy cards there directly, because if I buy cards from them I have to go to GraPARI anyway.
I go to GraPARI, where a very kind employee, without making me wait the queue, informs me that cards there are out of stock. I must go to shop, buy cards, then go back to register.
I rush back to shop. I buy two Simpati cards (50k for a card for only calls, 50k for a card with 2GB of Internet paket + 4GB for video, chat, etc).
I rush back to GraPARI. I get queue number. I wait 20 mins, then the only employee who speaks English welcomes me.
He does all the process entering my passport data into the system.
I try the GSM phone, ok.
I try the MIFI modem with the SIM card with Internet paket, but it does not work. The modem says "no valid SIM card". At this point, I was losing hope, but here is when I love Indonesian people.
The employee offers me to try the SIM card in HIS mobile phone. He leaves the desk, goes to take it, comes back, enter the card into his phone, start calling and surfing Internet, proving that the card was valid indeed.
He speculates that maybe I bought the MIFI modem in Batam and it is not ok (ahah)
Not at all. My MIFI modem has been tested in many countries in all continents.
You know what? I try again and now it works! The SIM card probably needed to be started on a phone for the first time and first access to the network, because now it works perfectly in my modem!
I realize that the employee did much more than his plain job for which he is paid. He also spent more time with me than for others.
I offer him "Can I offer you anything? Would you like me to go to JCo to bring you something to drink?"
He blushes and says "I don't know... maybe capuccino...."
In 5 minutes I am back with a cappuccino. He looks so happy and surprised.
Good guy.
I note that I WASTED MORE THAN 1 HOUR after I bought my SIM cards, just for this registration thing.
Procedure to register a SIMPATI SIM CARD in Batam
1) You can buy SIM cards anywhere.
2) To be used, Simpati cards MUST be registered first. No grace period. (I am surprised to read that other operators allow a grace period)
3) If you are Indonesian, you can register your card on your own, immediately, sending a SMS to a Telkomsel number including two ID numbers (KTP and KK - I don't understand why Indonesian must have TWO identity cards). That's it.
4) If you are foreigner, the only way to register the card is going to a Telkomsel GraPARI (3 points in Batam: Nagoya Hill, Batam Centre, Penuin) with your passport. Plan to queue for at least 15 minutes, if not more than one hour.
5) Registration is forever, BUT the card will expire if you don't top up once in a while. I am pretty sure that if I don't top up, next time I will be back to Indonesia I will have to repeat the whole procedure
